I do not own Trolls or Trolls World Tour or Trolls Band Together or any of the characters in the franchise or the songs! And I especially don't own any of the songs I use from the movie or any other song I pick out in general! I also don't own the characters of Trollstopia! The only thing I do own are my O.C.s Melody Song, McJagger, Buckaroo, Stereo, and Twilight Tidepool; I.M. Rally owns her O.C. Aggie Galido, and Cheah owns his O.C. Finn Okazaki Tidepool. Now, strap in, ladies and gentlemen, and let's get on with the show!
Back over at Mount Rageous, it was the start of another day in the life of famous phony- I mean, "superstars", Velvet and Veneer. And to get their day rolling, they relied on the "help" (and by help, I mean utter dependence on their go-to anxious assistant) of Crimp, who rolled by her day by helping the twins be ready for their day.
By the first strike of dawn, the first glimpse of light, and the first sound of the jeweled alarm clock going off, Crimp arose from her tiny beaded bed in Velvet and Veneer's room. Veneer tapped the clock off while Velvet dropped Crimp over to the kitchen, where she was placed to start making some coffee.
Now, as Crimp was getting into the groove of her working day, she couldn't help but bust out a small little ditty that helped keep her motivated, and while she could openly admit her voice wasn't the best, to her, she didn't mind; she liked to sing because it made her feel a little happier and not so anxious about accidentally doing something wrong...even if she wasn't doing anything in the first place.
9 to 5 (Homemade Extended Version) by Zosia Marmet
Crimp: Tumble out of bed and I stumble to the kitchen! Pour myself a cup of ambition! And yawn and stretch and try to come to life!
In the nearest empty mug, Crimp placed on her signature glasses and proceeded to the bathroom, to help the "superstar" twins wash up and look extra glamorous for their day. She was dropped initially in the sink, climbing out by bubble floating, and filed both the twins' nails, flossed their teeth, and plucked their eyebrows so that they looked extra fabulous.
Crimp: Jump in the shower and the blood starts pumpin'! Out on the street, the traffic starts jumpin'! With folks like me on the job from 9 to 5!
Crimp was then dropped into the closet, where she looked through each individual hanger to pick only but the bets outfits for Velvet and Veneer.
Crimp: Workin' 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin'! Barely gettin' by, it's all takin' and no givin'!
She picked the best outfits out and manually placed them onto Velvet and Veneer, one piece at a time, ending with their shiny shoes.
Crimp: They just use your mind and they never give you credit! It's enough to drive you crazy if you let it!
Crimp then went back into the closet and pulled out Velvet's tiara, placing it onto Velvet's head.
Crimp: 9 to 5, for service and devotion!
She then was seen tying the knot of the ribbon that helped keep the white robe that Veneer was wearing on nice and tight.
Crimp: You would think that I would deserve a fair promotion!
Crimp was then seen plugging in the iron and letting it heat up before she could start ironing their outfits (yes, they had her iron clothes while they WORE them; crazy, yes, but she had no word against it).
Crimp: Want to move ahead but the boss don't seem to let me! Sometimes, I swear, I swear they're out to get me-
What got Crimp to stop singing was in the moment that she had placed the iron down; instead of it being on the cloth of his robe, it accidentally touched the forearm of Veneer's right arm, which caused Veneer to let out a harsh shout, reprimanding Crimp, "Ow! You just burned me."
Crimp immediately panicked as she saw the barely visible yet painful burn mark on his arm, which made the little hairball quickly apologize, commenting, "Oh, my God! I'm sorry," before gently pointing out, "Um, maybe it would be easier if you took your shirt off"?
Now, Veneer COULD take the robe and his shirt off to iron his clothes a lot easier; it would make the job done a lot faster. And he WOULD do that...if it were not for the far-off look that Velvet was casting towards him, which was more than enough for Veneer to pretend like he could care less, kicking his feet up while saying, acting tired, "Don't be lazy."
Crimp merely just bit her lip and proceeded to iron his clothes quietly; ever since she was hired a month ago to work for them, this kind of behavior was something she had grown very used to, and since then, she has kept following the same montra to herself: Just do what they say, and they won't hurt you. They didn't scare her or anything...at least...not always. If anything, she was more anxious around Velvet than Veneer; at least Veneer wasn't always so...daunting with her and wasn't as demanding or intimidating to tend to as Velvet. Velvet was basically a prima donna, a spoiled brat, and a narcissistic queen all tied into one, and there was so much that Crimp had had to deal with from her, so much she wished she could say it was not so regretful, but it was.
As much as the hairball wanted to do something about it, she honestly couldn't bring herself to do it. The last time she tried to persuade Velvet and Veneer to do something that'd make her assisting job a little easier, Velvet shouted harsh insults at her (not like it was any different to what she would tell her every day), and also had to deal with a very...painful consequence that involved Velvet's shoe and...that's all she could bring herself to describe it.
It was no picnic for Floyd to be watching all of this either; it stung him most that there was only so much he could do himself to help her while being stuck in the bottle. but even his own words that he'd tell Velvet and Veneer seemed to fall on deaf ears simply.
Bringing her mindset back to being focused on helping the twins, Crimp then approached Velvet to address an important matter, telling her, "Oh, by the way, you know that thing you asked me for"?
"Space from you," Velvet responded in a sarcastically inquisitive/nonchalant "get the fuck away from me" expression.
Crimp, trying to play it off like a joke, forced some laughter while saying, "Oh, no. Yeah, no…," before the reality of what Velvet ACTUALLY said to her settled in, making her ask, "Uh, what"?
Of course, Crimp knew what Velvet actually said, and as much as she wanted to point that out, she decided against it, and reverted the conversation back to the main topic, explaining, "Anyways, you said you needed a way to make your smoothies even fruitier on stage."
This stuck out to Veneer, who had taken his robe off, and was absentmindedly listening to the conversation, and the sound of what his sister had requested him was very...off. not once did the twins even DRINK smoothies on stage, much less during a performance, so why was his sister asking Crimp about something like that? This intrigued him, causing Veneer to ask, "You did"?
Velvet immediately shushed her brother, answering, "Shh, yes, that is what I want," before ushering Crimp to "Go on."
Crimp smiled and let out a small chuckle before continuing to explain, "Well, I had an idea," and strutted over to a model stand that had what looked like standard white shoulder pads on. She spun it around, showing the front, which had two diamond containers on each shoulder pad (the containers looked just like the same diamond bottle that Floyd was in), and a purple button right in the middle of the pads. Proud of her creation, Crimp declared, "Tada," while showing it off to the twins.
Velvet was...not impressed, as you could guess, while Veneer was secretly intrigued by this. He would be more interested if it weren't for Velvet looking over his shoulder, so, trying to play it like he wasn't as amazed to see what Crimp had made, he commented as nonchalantly as he could, "Crimp, honey, that's not an idea; those are shoulder pads."
Crimp then happily explained, "I beg to differ; it's a high-powered vacuum. I finally put that master's degree in engineering to good use."
"Don't care about that; how does it work," velvet bluntly addressed, wanting to know about how it worked exactly. Veneer, on the other hand, also wanted to know, but was more curious about why his sister looked almost..."eager" to know how it worked. Was this really gonna be used for smoothies?
Crimp went on to explain as she used some fruits that she had, placing them in the vacuum to show how it worked, "See? You just pop the grape or strawberry or blueberry or guava slice, right in here, and it releases the fruit's essence through here. Once you're on stage, lightly tap this button, just delicately, you know, like, once."
As the fruits were placed into the container and its lid closed, Crimp then pressed the button once, lightly, and the inside of the container began to glow, which showed that the essence of the fruit was being extracted and ready to be emitted into Velvet and Veneer's body.
Velvet looked very happy, almost a little too happy, that Crimp's intentioned worked, and now...she could use it for what she REALLY wanted it for!
In the blink of an eye, Velvet took the container with the fruits out of the shoulder pads, replacing it with the bottle where Floyd was in, and before the Troll could even react to what was happening, the bottle was placed perfectly into the should pad spot. Then, Velvet placed on the shoulder pads and began to press the button many, many times vigorously. all while a defenseless Crimp saw Velvet's actions and quickly tried to convince her to stop in fear of what could happen if it was done too many times, shouting, "Oh! Oh, my God, wait, wait"!
But her cries couldn't be heard at all as Velvet was too focused on getting more Troll essence, and in the moment of her excessive pressing, the vacuum worked, and it sucked out a large deal of essence from Flouyd, who let out a pained shout and glowed as he felt more of his essence be drained away, much more than the perfume bottle did. And it HURT really bad, even worse than when the twins used the bottle's perfume squeezer to extract his essence; this was 10x worse! His muscles felt like they were on fire, his head felt like blood was rushing out from his ears and the top of his head, and his chest felt like a thousand fireballs were melting his insides.
Veneer, who watched this all happen, couldn't help but have a sad look for the Troll; while velvet would scold him for showing concern, he couldn't help it, seeing that little guy in pain stirred something in him that made him feel very...sour, about what they were doing. He knew that this ws wrong, but as much as he wanted to, not like anything he said would make a difference, and he couldn't even tell anyone about it. All that he could do was just simply follow what Velvet told him to do.
Velvet, in the meanwhile, reveled in the amount of essence that came out thanks to the vacuum; it made her feel stronger, and it made her voice sound more powerful, so powerful that she sang out a running line that was so glamorous and beautiful, even more so than the last successful run she had.
Crimp, on the other hand, felt very...used, and not in a good way. She thought that when Velvet came to her about this, that this invention would be used for smoothies, not to hurt that innocent Troll they had continuously! It didn't help that seeing him in pain made things better; out of concern, shock, and confusion, she pointed out to Velvet, "You said that it was for smoothies."
Velvet bluntly admitted, "It's called lying, Primp; Deal with me."
Crimp felt her stomach boil over with an emotion that she had long suppressed: anger. And boy, was she angry; Velvet had absolutely no right to manipulate her into making something that was for selfish gain! Not only that, but she lied to her, one, which was very hurtful, and two, she still hasn't even considered how this was hurting that troll! Aside from Veneer, whom she noticed seemed to harbor the same concerns for the troll as she did, she was the only one who truly seemed to sow any amount of remorse or care for the situation he has been going through and worried for his well-being.
She wanted to shout, she wanted to curse out Velvet, and Veneer a little bit, but mostly Velvet; she even dared herself with wanting to harm Velvet physically, but alas, her nerves were getting the best of her again, and they overwhelmed her with the same concerns that still arose, which Crimp quickly addressed, "If you use too much, you'll kill him. The plum that I tested turned into a prune," before showing off a plum that was turned into a dried up prune.
Veneer, who was taking all of this in, now had his concerns visibly seen in his face; it was bad enough that he was battling with keeping the truth behind their rise to fame a secret and using Troll essence to make their voices better, but it was a whole other game involving the threat of accidentally killing the Troll. His death would mean that their entire scheme would come apart; they'd lose their only source of essence- power- unless Velvet is correct, and the rest of BroZone would come, and they'd be exposed for who they truly are. Oddly enough, part of him wanted this; he wanted this to happen just so it could end and he could stop feeling so guilty about everything.
While he couldn't get Velvet to stop, perhaps he could...get her to use the Troll's essence...less?
With this thought in mind, he approached Velvet, eyeing the Troll in the shoulder pad, and commented in concern/slight awe, because he had to admit, the Troll was a cute little creature, "Well, I don't wanna kill the little guy. They're kinda cute when they're up and about, banging on the walls, yelling to go home."
Floyd resisted the urge to shoot the bird sign towards the twins, though his head still rang from having his essence drained, and it was tiring enough to keep himself sitting upright while Veneer was tapping on the glass. The only thing that kept him from getting too angry was the fact that while Velvet was practically a lost cause in helping, Veneer on the other hand was more emotionally lenient and showed at least some consideration for how he is and how he's feeling, especially about how he's been looking regarding to the essence draining process. Plus, he did admire that Veneer was trying to get Velvet to control her suppressed obsession with taking his talent, for whom he had a lot of respect.
However, Veneer was defenseless against Velvet, and Velvet always knew just what to tell him to convince Veneer to keep going with their plan. She cupped his face and reminded him, "Do you wanna lose all this and go back to the dark place where we had nothing"?
A glimpse flashback involved Velvet and Veneer, who were dressed like sickly orphans, and each of them held empty bowls, while young Veneer asked in a sad British voice, "Please, sir, I want some more."
"Did that really happen," Crimp asked curiously.
"No, that is not how we grew up," feneer replied, sounding a little blunt because he knew Velvet was exaggerating things, again.
"Well, that's how it felt like," Velvet argued while taking out the bottle container with Floyd in it out of the shoulder pad and tying the perfume spray lid on top.
Veneer quickly addressed to Velvet, "Girl, we grew up in the suburbs; our parents were dentists."
Flashback to years ago...
Life in Mount Rageous was amazing for young Velvet and young Veneer, both of whom grew up with a lovely set of parents. Being dentists gave them free medical insurance, and free appointments, so the twins always had perfect smiles. The parents were rich and made sure that they had enough to support the bills and keep their family safe and fed, while also indulging on a few extra perks every now and then.
Veneer, as a kid, was happy and enjoyed life to the fullest; he simply went with the flow of things and always did as he was told to do. He was a good boy; followed the rules, never rebelled; he was, in the eyes of their parents, the golden child.
Velvet, on the other hand, was a different story. Since she was little, she was nothing short of a spoiled brat, always wanting to greater things in life, never grateful for what she had. She liked being the "mean girl" and always fussed about to get her way, in any means necessary. She felt like her parents never understood what she wanted to do, despite them being very supportive of their kids' dreams, and she had raging anger problems.
One instance of this involved a time where the kids were eating dinner. Veneer was casually eating his dinner cereal as their father asked the kids, "So, how was school today"?
But Velvet, who was in a very sour mood, shouted angrily, "Stop attacking me," and flipped the table, spilling all the food onto the floor.
That instance led to a scolding from her mother and being grounded for a week, but it did nothing to curb Velvet's spoiled behavior, which only worsened as the kids got older.
End of flashback...
That mention didn't exactly change Velvet's way of thinking, especially as she started a long rant, going on about how,"Our parents were nobodies, and we were nobodies. And when I met you, you were literally sucking your thumb and pooping all over the place."
Veneer couldn't help but point out, in relation to that topic, "You met me when I was a baby, so.."
He didn't even get the chance to finish explaining as Velvet continued on, shouting, "All over the place; it was nuts"!
Deciding to put a stop to this long rant, Veneer stepped forward, stating to the point, "Look, I get it; perhaps our upbringing wasn't the charmed life that you wished it was; personally, I thought we had a good childhood. I mean, I definitely enjoyed it while you went on yammering about how you wanted to become the next big thing-,"
"And now we are," Velvet interrupted again, facing her brother while clutching onto the perfume bottle, with Floyd helplessly tossed around, "We're about to have our legacy cemented as the biggest names in music and go down the one-path trail to icons! We've come so far, we can't go back now! Got it"?
Her demeanor slowly changed from snobbish to a little intimidating as Velvet used her free hand to grab Veneer's shoulder firmly and told him, "We've worked too hard to give it all up now just because you want to go back to the good ol' days where you were nothing more than a slick nobody, and let your conscience tell you what to do. I tell you what to do, and what I say, goes. Understood"?
Veneer, now a little frightened, could only slowly nod in response before Velvet added, her demeanor returning back to the same snobbish remark, "Besides, you don't wanna give up all the yachts and the bling and your illegal pet monkey, do you"?
The thought of the "illegal" pet monkey that was currently being stored in the twin's luxury zoo was more than enough fright for Veneer to handle as he nervously commented in response, "Okay. I've made my peace with it," before he told Cringe, trying to sound optimistic, "Great job, Cringe."
Velvet then turned her attention to Crimp, telling the orange hairball as she approached her, "You're smarter than I thought."
Crimp, at first, took it as a compliment before Velvet added in a threatening manner, "Now I don't trust you."
Crimp nervously gulped as she tried to reason with Velvet, telling her without letting her nerves flail out on her, "That's maybe not a rational response, I don't-"
But she didn't get the chance to finish because she soon felt herself get harshly grabbed by Velvet by the bun on her head, and was thrown harshly into the broom closet, and the landing didn't hurt as much as what came next.
As Crimp landed on the floor in the closet, she cried out, "Please don't put me in the closet," but the plea fell on deaf ears as Velvet slammed the door in her face, startling the hairball, who curled up on the floor, covered her eyes with her hands, and let out frightened whimpers.
Veneer, taking this in, bit his tongue but couldn't help but feel a little startled by Velvet's behavior; it was one thing to taunt, but seeing how she just mercilessly threw Crimp into the closet, he began to fear that she was becoming...unhinged.
Velvet then turned around and told her brother bluntly, "See that? Those who oppose us get shut out into the darkness of isolation. You most certainly don't want to be there, right"?
Veneer looked down at the ground as he replied a meek, quiet "No."
"Exactly," Velvet stated, thinking that her point got through to her brother, before she tossed the perfume bottle over to him, saying as she walked out of the room, "Now come on, we're about to go from stars to megastars."
Inside the perfume bottle, Floyd was not looking good, if anything, his condition had gotten worse; the same transparency that became of his feet and legs had spread tp his hands, his waist, though the pants did a good job hiding it, and even his hair was now beginning to fade, its rich magenta color turning into a pale white by the roots of his scalp. It didn't help that his muscle soreness had gotten worse, and he was having a hard time being able to breathe, though part of it was due to exhaustion to the massive draining he had experienced earlier in the vacuum.
He saw the still troubled look on Veneer's face and thought that it'd be the perfect chance to try and convince him to let him go free, pleading through the pain, "Please, Veneer."
Veneer, on the one hand, wanted to let Floyd go free; he knew that this innocent Troll shouldn't have to be suffering from all this just because his sister has a die-hard desire to become famous. His conscience was also nagging at him to do the right thing, and he would more than happy follow...if he didn't feel like he owed Velvet.
That was the point on the other hand, he couldn't bring himself to disobey his sister, and this wasn't just because she was very intimidating. But she was family, and this was something that they were getting to do together, so who would he be if he did something that would hurt his family? hurt his sister?
He solemnly looked at the poor Troll in the bottle and told him sadly, "It's nothing personal; I just love my sister, and I can't go against her."
He then added with a small smile, "Plus, not to sour things, but I do enjoy all my fame, and money, and things I bought."
Of course, this didn't do much to brighten things for Floyd, who sarcastically declared in response, "Yeah, sure, dying sucks, but at least it's for some sweet "blingading" and some boho-chic home furnishings."
"You get it," Veneer replied with a smile before his demeanor became serious, adding, "But seriously, if I could, I would, but I can't. I'm sorry," before he used the perfume bottle and extracted some of Floyd's essence, sharpening his singing, before tossing the bottle over his shoulder as he left the room.
The bottle fell to the floor, jostling Floyd around, who writhed in pain from muscle contractions. He gazed up at his hands and saw that they now had become transparent and lifeless, like his legs and feet. The white paleness of his hair seemed to grow, expanding a bit beyond his roots.
Floyd let out a sad sigh, feeling his chest burning as he did, before he heard Crimp's voice call out from the closet, "My WiFi doesn't work great in the closet."
Unsure of what to do or what to feel now, all that Floyd could do was lay on his back, which as the only painless thing that he felt most comfortable doing, and try to regain a proper breathing pattern, inhaling through the nose and out through the mouth a few times, which helped his body relax and make the muscle soreness less excruciating. But the burning in his chest interrupted that moment, which prompted him to bring one of his now transparent hands over and clutch his chest, letting the pain run its course.
As this happened, Floyd let a single tear fall, but this wasn't a tear of pain or a tear of sadness; this was a tear of concern. He couldn't help but feel so concerned now for his brothers, knowing that they were gonna be walking into something bad, and they were none the wiser, and the fear of what possible torture that BroZone could face once Velvet gets her hands on them...he mentally shuddered just thinking about it.
Deep in the waters of Bubble Swamp, the Angler bus was floating amongst the murky waters, using its feet to quickly paddle its way across so that it could stay afloat. Any moment that some of the biting fish approached it, one menacing growl from the bus scared them off, telling them that it was not worth trying to attack it.
Inside the bus, while Laguna was peering out the window, eyeing carefully at any potential sign that could lead the way over to the twin Tikki Troll statues, the others were informing the leaders about what they had witnessed so far.
"Ok, so then what happened," Trollex asked in wonder as the leaders were all listening closely.
"Then, after finding the map at her house, we left and headed to the desert so we could look for the silver pyramids," Aggie was starting off the story, after already mentioning their little trip to Techno Reef prior to the exploration.
"It was so hot at the desert, like you could fry an egg on the sand," Val stated while tugging the collar of her crop top.
"Ayn' we looked long ayn' hard faw them pyramids befawe we wound up runnin' inta somethin' unexpected," Holly stayed next before adding, "Ayy baby Catgruff"!
"Catgruffs? What are Catgruffs," Barb asked in confusion, which got her an unsure shrug from Trollzart, who commented, "That's a name I'm very unfamiliar with."
"Catgruffs were a species of cat-like creatures who were also half-eagles, possessing mighty wings that allowed them to fly," Quincy explained.
"They were prominent figures during the Trollgyptian Era," Essence added.
"And we not only saw the kitty baby one, but we even got to meet the leader, yo," Synth mentioned excitedly.
"Her name's Empress Sandtrap, and she helped bring us over to the largest silver pyramid for us to go through," Dante informed next.
"Wowee, that was maheety kaand ov huurr," Delta responded with curiosity.
"Then, once we got inside the pyramid, we had to solve a tile floor puzzle to cross over safely, and then deciphered a song-riuddle on this massive wall full lof hido-, uh...hirongraph-no, that's not it," Melody stated, stumbling a little with trying to say the words properly.
"Hieroglyphics, baby," Low-Note Jones quickly corrected, earning a "Yeah, what he said," from Melody.
"Then, once we solved it, we got to exit on the other side and go up this path that took us to this patch of forest that had all these bright and beautiful flowers," McJagger explained next.
"Sounds like a very wondrous sight," Trollzart commented in awe.
"There were so many, yo, it was like dozens of painted glowsticks coloring the area," Stereo added happily.
"Then, one ov' them clamped down ovuurr Laguna, ayn' soon, we all got trapped by some flowuurrs ayn' got tossed around laake limp spaghetti," Buckaroo explained next.
"It was back and forth throwing and catching til it felt like our heads were gonna ring," Dante pointed out while holding his head.
"Then we got tossed aside, and Melly got thrown into a plant that kissed her," Val then stated.
Melody shuddered while commenting, "Don't remind me; it led to me getting beat up by that punching plant afterward, sent flying into a tree."
"You flew into a tree," Barb asked while laughing, thinking it was funny.
"Yeah, yeah, yuck it up," the Pop/Rock Troll commented, rolling her eyes, before she then brought up with a serious expression, "But then, as I was about to try and find the others, I saw something."
"Wait, you saw something," Aggie asked while raising a curious eyebrow.
"What was it, sugar," Holly asked curiously.
"Was it an animal," Quincy asked.
"Did it try to hurt you," Val asked with concern.
"Was it a person," Essence asked.
"Well, if I'm being honest, it looked like...a Troll," Melody explained, adding, "At least I think it was; I only saw the pair of eyes looking at me before it ran off, and I couldn't see what they looked like because they ran too far ahead."
"Maybe whoevuurr it was thought y'all was ayy threat ayn' ran off in fraheet," Delta suggested.
"Or maybe they were just feeling shy, yo," Stereo brought up, saying, "I know how that feels like."
"Well, whatever it was, it disappeared before I could find them, and that was when I heard you guys calling me, and went to join the rest of the group," Melody quickly reinstated back to the main part of the story.
"Which led ta us headin' ta the swamp, where we were all thinkin' ov how to cross it," Buckaroo mentioned.
"Right up to the point where we made our grand arrival, and met up with you folks, leading to us now sailing the swamp waters," Barb summed it up in the end, earning nods from everyone in Laguna's group.
"That about sums it up, yo," Synth replied.
"If I may ask, what is the significance of these Tikki Troll statues that we are now looking for," Trollzart inquired.
"According to what Laguna read on the map, it marks the next landmark that we have to pass through to get to the Catacombs of Music, which is where her mother may possibly still be at," McJagger responded.
Trollzart then thought of an idea, saying, "Perhaps Dante and I can help aid the search by flying outside the floating bus and flying ahead to eye the path we are charting"?
Laguna, who overheard the conversation while keeping a sharp eye out for the statues, turned her head and replied, "note: that's a very wise idea, Trollzart; it'd be deeply appreciated if you and Dante could fly out and keep watch of what's up in the distance."
"But of course, Tidepool; we are more than happy to be of assistance," Dante happily stated as he and Trollzart flew out the entrance of the Angler Bus, the Classical Trolls flying not too far away from the bus, but with enough distance to keep track of what they were approaching up ahead.
The first thing that Trollzart eyed was a patch of jagged rocks that looked sharp enough to hurt the Angler Bus, which prompted the Classical leader to fly back, warning the Trolls, "We must be cautious, Trolls; there's a patch of rocks coming up that look sharp."
"Not to worry, Trollzart dude; there's an easy way for us to get the bus to go around them," Barb commented before she leaped up from her throne and vigorously pushed into the left side of the bus, like when Rock Trolls would shove each other in a mosh pit.
The bus let out a bellow before it responded by moving over to the left side, the motion of it moving causing the Trolls to all slip and fall towards the left side.
The map also fell out of Laguna's hand, floating around aimlessly in the air as the anTrollpologist fell towards the left side, away from the window.
Outside, it could be seen that the bus had moved over to the left side, easily dodging the patch of jagged rocks that Trollzart warned about.
Inside, the Trolls were recovering from being jostled from the bus moving, Trollex being visibly ticked off about it as the movement brought back bad memories during the World Tour when he and the other Techno Trolls were trapped in the bus after being captured. He harshly reprimanded the Rock queen, telling her sarcastically, "Oh wow, nice idea," before addressing harshly, "Next time: warn us before you turn the bus into a rocking mosh pit"!
"Easy, fish boy; it worked at least, right," Barb quickly pointed out, earning a facepalm and eye roll from Trollex.
As everyone was getting back up, Laguna took notice that she had dropped the map and started looking around, saying, "Oh no, where'd the map go"?!
Everyone looked up and saw the map floating back down, which Aggie quickly caught, saying, "I got it"!
Up ahead, Dante eyed more jagged rocks that the bus was approaching, shouting so the Trolls inside the bus could hear, "Rocks ho"!
Val heard the warning, and this time, was the one who jumped and pushed into the right side of the bus, making it shift to the right and causing everyone to quickly side over to the other side, the map floating back into the air.
The bus moved over to the right side and avoided the new patch of rocks.
Quincy was the first to recover back onto his feet and catch the map, saying, "Gotcha, it's back in safe hands."
"Ok, new plan: if someone's gonna be bumpin' the bus' saade, warn us befawe doin' it," Holly quickly pointed out.
"Agreed," some of the Trolls that were pressed up against the wall replied in pained unison as they returned to their feet.
Quincy gave the map back to Laguna, who decided that it was probably for the best to store the map away in her hair, placing it away while saying, "Let's just put this somewhere where it won't go flying out and about if we run into any more trouble."
Suddenly, Trollzart and Dante both flew into the bus, the mouth closing behind them, as Dante declared, "Trolls, we have trouble up ahead"!
"More rocks we have to dodge," Essence asked in concern.
"Oh no, not rocks, something MUCH worse," Trollzart replied worryingly.
"What could be worse than dodgin' rocks," Buckaroo asked in an unsure shrug.
Suddenly, the answer seemed to come to Synth, whose eyes widened in fright as he shouted, "Oh no, yo"!
"What is Synthesizer," Stereo asked in concern, "Dark cave"?
"Sharks," Melody asked.
"Glitter Gators," Low-Note Jones asked.
"Whirlpool," Aggie asked.
"Evil wizard," Val asked.
Val's question got some curious head turns, which prompted the Rock ambassador to say, "What? Evil wizards are worse than rocks, right"?
Synth shook his head and replied, "No, yo, something even worse than ALL of that"!
Suddenly, things outside seemed to go quiet...too quiet, with only the sound of rising water that could be heard by everyone, with Dante saying in a scared whisper, "It's too late"!
McJagger bravely stuck his head out the window to see what it was, as the red Funk Troll looked around for any sign of danger, though there was nothing alarming in the area...at first. Then, he noticed that the Angler bus was approaching a small set of rapids that were leading downward to the edge of what looked like a massive waterfall that they were about to go down, and judging by how fast the rapids were moving, he guessed that it was a strong one.
He realized that THIS was what Trollzart and Dante were warning them about, and gasped, shouting, "Waterfall"!
"Waterfall," everyone shouted in disbelief/panic.
"Get this bus movin' back NOW," Holly shouted as she, Low-Note Jones, Stereo, and Melody were trying to push the backside of the bus to get it moving backward to avoid going backward into the current stream that'd take them down the waterfall. Trollzart, Dante, and Aggie all flew outside and were holding onto the backfin of the Angler Bus, doing their best to pull it back with all their might, hoping to help with holding it back.
However, despite how hard the Angler bus swam and how hard it kicked and flapped its wings, it wasn't strong enough to be able to move backward, especially after entering the initial rapid current that got a strong hold on the bus.
"It's not working, yo; we're still heading towards the waterfall," Stereo cried out in panic while pushing.
By the front, the Angler bus had opened its mouth, which allowed Quincy, Trollex, and Buckaroo to try and use their hands/front paws to paddle the bus backward, but the currents were too strong that it pushed them back inside, causing the bus to flip.
At the same time that the bus was flipping, it also pulled Trollzart, Aggie, and Dante into the water, the trio appearing up on top for a moment running on top of the now spinning bus, water washing over it. then, the bus got turned back right side up, with Aggie and the Classical Trolls falling inside it, while McJagger and Laguna got tossed ut, falling into the water.
McJagger quickly swam back up onto the surface and grabbed onto a rock that poked out of the water before he saw Laguna being pulled his way, which triggered him to reach out and grab her, saying, "I gotcha, boo"!
Laguna saw that McJagger had grabbed her just in time, but their attention got pulled away when they heard the panicked screams of their friends from the now floating bus that was heading right towards the waterfall.
"Our friends," laguna shouted in panic, trying to think of what to do to help save them.
"We gotta go after them, but how are we gonna save them and keep ourselves from going over the falls," McJagger asked out loud to his girlfriend.
Then, Laguna noticed that there were some items that spilled out of the bu8s when it flipped: some boxes, an old speaker, guitars, a fishing line and rod, what looked like a toilet se- a fishing line and rod?!
The fishing line and rod gave Laguna an idea, making her look up at McJagger and declare while grabbing the fishing line and rod, "i got a plan"!
Meanwhile, the Angler bus was still floating towards the edge of the waterfall, with the Trolls inside trying to move stuff inside to make the bus too heavy to have it go over. They were pushing as much stuff as possniel over to the back near Barb's throne.
"Keep pushin', y'all; place as much back here as ya ken," Delta commented while shoving a speaker up against the wall.
"I think it's working," Val shouted in hope before they all felt the bus shake vigorously, making her retract her words in fright while saying, "Or not."
Synth noticed that Laguna and McJagger were missing, which made him point out, "Bro, hold up! Where's 'Guna and McJ"?!
Everyone looked around real quick before Aggie realized what happened, saying in panic, "Oh no, they must've fallen out of the bus when it flipped"!
"They're gonna get pulled over the falls," Dante cried out worryingly, almost feeling the urge to faint.
Suddenly, Essence seemed to notice something out the window and gasped, saying, "Trolls, look"!
Everyone looked out the windows and were shocked to see McJagger, who was carefully scaling the rocks along the riverside, with Laguna riding on his back. As quickly and carefully as he could, he jumped from rock to rock, getting ahead of the bus.
Once that they were far enough, McJagger spotted an old fallen tree that was sturdy enough to hold his weight. He scrambled onto the tree as Laguna readied the line on the fishing rod.
When the bus came close enough, she launched it, shouting, "Guys, grab a hold"!
By the front of the bus, Barb, who saw the line coming, reached up to grab it so she could hook it up to the bus, but it missed by the slip of her fingers and fell backward, much to Mcjagger and Laguna's shock.
Then, the Angler Bus collided with another rock, making it flip over again, and pouring everyone out of the bus and into the water with panicked screams, much to the couples' shock. Trolls scrambled to stay afloat and tried to swim against the current, hoping to get away from the waterfall, but even the strongest swimmers had a hard time fighting the currents.
Not wanting to give up, Laguna gave the line another mighty toss, and the hook soard into the air before successfully hooking onto the top jaw of the flipped Angler bus, making it stop just before it could go over the edge, and acted as a barrier where the rest of the Trolls were able to swim to and hold on to avoid going over the falls.
"That's it! We got 'em," McJagger cheered as he and Laguna both worked together to pull the fishing line back to them, trying to bring their friends to safety.
Just then, a wave of water washed over the tree and caused it to break it half, and the weight of the hooked bus pulled both Laguna and McJagger into the water, the current causing them to crash into another ock where they held on for dear life, still holding the fishing rod.
The loosened line made the bus go over the edge just a little, but not completely over it yet, but it was near teetering the edge of the waterfall, and the Trolls who were using the bus as their barrier were struggling to keep hold.
"Hurry it up, Laguna and McJagger," Trollex shouted to them.
"We can't hold on much longer, babies; please hurry," Low-Note Jones declared.
McJagger did his best to hold onto the rock while also holding onto Laguna, who was trying to use the fishing rod to reel in th bus and their friends.
Suddenly, McJagger could feel his paws slipping, making the Funk Troll gasp and tell Laguna, "Laguna. I can't hold on much longer"!
"Try your best, McJagger," Laguan replied while struggling to pull the fishing line back.
However, as hard as he was trying, the water made the rock too slippery to hold, and his paws soon slipped off the rock, which pulled him and Laguna towards the bus.
This also meant that the securing line that held back the bus was let loose, letting the Angler bus and the Trolls all go down the waterfall, falling one by one, with their fates now unsure of as they fell into the foggy, splashy, bottom below.
Out on the road, Rhonda was running down a path through a lumpy dirt field, with hills as far as the eye can see. Inside the car, Tiny had taken the wheel again and was driving like a pro, although "pro" would be questionable considering his young age.
At the moment, the radio was on, and Velvet and Veneer's single "Watch Me Work" was playing. Branch was inspecting some old BroZone magazines while John Dory was eyeing at the clueboard as Bruce, who was sitting up at the front alongside Poppy, was listening to the music.
Bruce couldn't help but bop his head while he listened, commenting, "Oh, my kids love these guys; we're a total Veneer household."
John Dory, who overheard the comment, gasped, addressing Bruce, "How can you like them?! They're the ones who have Floyd"!
Bruce, who knew of this, pointed out, "I'm not saying I "like" them, I'm just saying that the music is good. I mean, Veneer's voice outshines Velvet's."
Branch, who was also overhearing the conversation, wanted to put in his two cents of the topic, pointing out, "Their music is built on lies; they're stealing his talent just to try and make it as singers."
"Yeah, Bitty B's right," John Dory interrupted, much to Branch's chagrin seeing his eldest brother barging in again and still calling him by that stupid band nickname, with John Dory stating, "Those two are just posers who have our brother hostage, and we need to focus on freeing him."
Bruce knew of this too and addressed, "I understand all of this, I do, but you gotta admit, it does sound catchy. It's gonna be hard to separate the art from the artist."
As the song continued to play, Poppy was sparking a conversation with the former "Heartthrob," asking him, "Ok, so, aside from surfing and cooking home-cooked meals for the family, what kind of hobbies do you enjoy"?
Bruce smiled and replied, "Oh, well, I personally enjoy sitting by the shore, reading a good book, listening to the sound of beach ball birds singing. You know, there's this one book I really like; Clay introduced it to me back when we all still lived together. the ending is sad, but the plotline and character growth of the protagonist is astounding."
Poppy was very surprised to hear this, saying, "Really? You should show it to Branch later; I'm sure he'd love to read it."
Bruce chuckled before saying, "I don't know; it might be a lil' complicated for him to get," before he then asked Poppy, "Speaking of him, what's the story between you two"?
"Uh, story? What story," Poppy asked shyly, feeling a blush heat up on her cheeks.
"Don't try to fool me; speaking from experience as the one that girls always fall for, I know a good love story when I see one," Bruce stated with a chuckle.
Poppy's blush got bigger as she explained, "Well, it started a while back after the events of the World Tour, after everyone all sang together. He came up to me, and I told him that I loved how we were different, and then he said "I love you" to me, and well, I said "I love you" back, and fast forward, we're now dating."
"Woah, never thought I'd see Bitty B land a girl," Bruce commented happily.
Poppy chuckled shyly, saying, "Would it be lying if I said he might've learned a thing or two from you"?
"Not a bit," Bruce replied, saying, "I taught him everything about being a ladies' man at the ripe ol' age of 2 months."
Poppy then asked, "So, how about you? How did you end up on Vacay Island"?
Bruce was a little hesitant about answering this question but figured that since he was getting to know Branch's girlfriend, it'd make sense to have her know a little more about him. He explained, "Well, it all started after the night I left, actually. I was in a pretty sour mood, and wandered out of the Troll Tree and headed down a path leading into a thick forest. I walked for what felt like hours before I heard the sound of thunder, and it prompted me to go find shelter. But I didn't look where I was going and fell into a river, where I got swept away. I didn't know how long it was, but after I passed out while in the water, I remembered waking up on a random beach, where this random lady approached me, asking if I was ok. Little did I know that this random lady who came up to me would become my wife."
Flashback to years ago...
A young Bruce, back when he was still Spruce, was seen soaked to the skin, washed up against the shoreline of Vacay Island. The Troll was beginning to come back to it, waking up, slowly opening his eyes, and his vision returning to normal.
He looked around, wondering where he was, asking himself, "Where am I"?
He struggled to get to his feet, but the water that he was soaked in made it hard to keep a firm grip, and he was getting sand on himself that stuck to his face, body, and abs.
Then, he saw a pair of feet approach him and looked up, hesitantly panicking that it was another tall creature that'd eat Trolls, like the Bergens.
However, this creature was NOT a Bergen, it was a Vacay folk, Brandy to be more specific, back when she was a young teenager, her appearance the same as it is now. She looked down at Bruce in concern, asking him, "Hey there. Are you ok"?
The purple-haired Troll looked up at her and gave a small nod before he saw her reach a hand down to him. Unsure of what to do or what felt right, he climbed up onto her hand as she lifted him up.
Brandy used her other hand to gently brush the sand off of him before saying, "You look like you could use something to eat. Want to come into the restaurant"?
Spruce turned his head and saw a restaurant that was named "Brandy's" (the soon-to-be-renamed Bruce and Sons' and One Daughter). Then, he felt his stomach rumbling and realized that he hadn't eaten anything since he left. So, acting politely, he decided to take her up on her offer, saying, "Uh, sure, I'd love to."
Brandy brought him into the restaurant, and the Troll got a good look of the interior. Vacay folks were all in the pool, enjoying themselves, swimming, having fun, eating, drinking, and no one seemed to care that they looked different from one another. Here, it felt like a Troll could come and relax and enjoy themselves, let loose.
This was an amazing sight to Spruce, who had been modeled to be this perfect, handsome-looking guy that'd swoon the ladies.
His attention was then brought back to the present, where he saw that Brandy was entering a kitchen, placing the Troll gently on the counter while she told him, "You sit tight, and I'll go make you something to eat. Then, we could talk about anything you want, unless you don't feel ready to talk yet. If so, then we can sit and eat together and you can talk to me whenever you'd like."
Spruce was astounded; this being who seemed to just rescue him from almost dying out on the waters was welcoming him into her restaurant, offered to make him some food, and didn't at all pressure him to talk about anything he didn't feel like talking about yet?! Spruce felt so...free. He felt...happy!
Spruce gave a nod to the woman, saying, "Sure, we could talk a little bit. By the way, name's Spruce."
"Name's Brandy; nice to meet you, Spruce," Brandy replied before she went to make Spruce some food.
Spruce, meanwhile, was admiring the place and felt like he never wanted to leave! He could stay here forever and ever, and personally, he'd rather stay here than be around an older brother who kept bossing him around and pressuring him to be something that was never gonna be achievable.
End of flashback...
"After that, I never looked back. I chose to stay at Vacay Island, and I helped Brandy out with running the restaurant. We soon started to date, where at that time, I changed my name from Spruce to Bruce since I wanted to move on from the band days and start my new life with her. One thing led to another and boom! Ended up getting married and having 13 kids," Bruce explained.
Poppy was moved by the story, saying, "Aww, that's so sweet."
"Yeah, meeting Brandy was one of the best things that ever happened," Bruce commented, saying to Poppy, "She didn't care if I had abs or not, she liked me for who I was as a Troll, not as a band member or a famous singer. She didn't mind that I wasn't perfect because she thought I was perfect when I was being myself and not someone else."
Poppy then asked, "While you lived on Vacay Island, did you miss your brothers"?
Bruce thought hard about that question before answering, "Well, I definitely missed Branch a lot; it's still hard to believe that he's no longer that same baby I grew up with. Floyd, boy, I missed him a lot, too; he was definitely the more peaceful of the 5; made things calmer, you know? If it weren't for him, I'd have strangled John Dory by now. And Clay, boy, he and I were pretty tight. The stories I have about the pranks we pulled together on our off-time, we'd be here all night hearing about them."
"And what about John Dory," Poppy asked.
Bruce's expression grew a bit grim as he answered, "To be honest, John Dory was the one Troll I didn't miss while I was on Vacay Island. I mean, he is such a control freak! You have no idea the kind of workouts he made me do to maintain those abs; it was exhausting. That's not even the worst of it, no; the worst of it was how pressuring he could be; it's like any time that you have even a free moment to express yourself, he then swoops in and says, "No, you're not doing it right," or "No, it has to be like this." "Follow my lead this" and "Do as I say that." I could barely take it! That was why that night, I was so ready to leave because his obsession to boss us around got to me, and I couldn't take it anymore. I was done following his lead because I didn't want him to boss me into being someone I didn't want to be anymore."
Bruce saw the stunned look on Poppy's face, and he suddenly felt bad, worried that he dropped too much information on her. This prompted him to apologize, saying, "Sorry, guess this is the kind of stuff you don't want to hear coming from the "Heartthrob" of BroZone."
Then, Poppy shook her head and smiled, saying, "No, no, it's ok, I do want to hear about it. I know that things were tense between you and your brothers, especially with John."
"Oh, it was more than tense; if anyone else was leading Brozone, then we would never have walked out that day and broken up," Bruce commented, almost sounding blunt.
Bruce then sighed, saying, "It goes more than just to the way he led BroZone; he's been like this since we all were kids. Just because he's the oldest, he thinks that he's the boss of all of us, that he knows what's best, when he doesn't. And it's irked me to the point where I just couldn't handle it anymore, you know? Yes, I'm the second oldest, but I don't go bossing our siblings around because of it; I treat my family with respect and love, and I respect my siblings and love them. I just wished that John Dory understood that; even now, he still looks like the same Troll that he was that night we left, still trying to have control over everything."
Poppy wanted to say something to Bruce in hopes of lifting his spirits up a bit, but just then, the announcer on the radio spoke up, saying as the song ended, "That's Velvet and Veneer's spicy-hot new single "Watch Me Work." Catch them tomorrow night at the Rage Dome where they'll be receiving the Lifer Award."
Everyone on the bus was concerned about how Floyd was gonna manage last till the Rage Dome show and were worried that they weren't gonna make it in time. As Bruce turned the radio off, Branch, who was shown to be the most concerned for Floyd, asked worryingly, "Guys, will Floyd even make it through that show"?
Poppy saw how worried her boyfriend was and knew that Floyd's well-being mattered a lot to Branch; it tore her heart to see Branch this worried. She got up from her seat and walked up to Branch, telling him as she used her hand to cup her cheek, "Don't worry, we're gonna make it."
Branch turned his head to face Poppy, who added, "And I'm not just saying it to sound optimistic like usual, I'm saying it because I know that we're gonna make it in time. And before you ask, I may be sounding a bit exaggerated.."
Branch, hearing this, couldn't help but smile; Poppy, as crazy as she could be at times, always just seemed to know what to say, and truth be told, he was a little surprised to see her openly admit to exaggerating a little, though perhaps she maybe wasn't.
Poppy, meanwhile, continued with, "But I say it because we are working together with you to help save Floyd, and teamwork, whether it'd be with friends, or family, or both, is strong enough to get us anywhere."
Branch could feel his own heart beat a little faster as he felt touched by Poppy's words. This was the first time that Poppy encouraged him (though she's encouraged him PLENTY of times) in a very "truthful" manner. Seeing how she has acknowledged his feelings about the entire situation, his feelings around seeing his brothers again, and taking all that into account and still being able to encourage him, it made Branch feel proud to see how much his girlfriend has grown and at the same time, feel like the luckiest Troll in-
"Yeah, Bitty B; we're gonna get to Floyd in no time," John Dory abruptly interrupted the moment by swinging his arm around Branch, almost crushing him slightly, while saying, "we just gotta find Clay, and we'll be ready to bro"!
Branch let out an annoyed sigh, bothered that John Dory completely spoiled the moment between him and Poppy, as he then saw John Dory gazing at the clue board, saying, "I've been looking for clues to find Clay."
If Branch had not been ticked off by John Dory's behavior before, he was now! First, John disses his clue board, calling it silly, and relies on the use of a little postcard, which he'll admit surprisingly worked, that could've been deduced faster if he HAd used the clue board! And now, John Dory does a quick turn and decides to USE it?! Irked beyond belief, Branch commented towards the eldest sibling in a sarcastic/faking cheeriness manner, "Oh, I'm sorry, the clue board? You mean my clue board? That I made? We like the clue board now"?
"Hold on, Bitty B, I'm trying to find a clue here," John Dory brushed up his youngest brother's comment.
Branch's hands immediately balled into a fist, and Poppy noticed this, asking Branch in concern, "Branch, are you ok"?
"I'll...be fine," Branch replied, though his voice sounded very strained, like it was trying to sound normal when it was actually laced with a lot of frustration and anger.
Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Branch marched up to John Dory and used his hair to turn the eldest sibling around before saying, "Just...stop"!
John Dory was taken aback by this, asking as his back was now against the wall next to the clue board, "Woah, easy baby bro, what's eating you"?
"Here's what "Eating me" John Dory," Branch bitterly spat out, stating, "You have to stop acting like you know what's best for us to do! You may have brought up about Floyd being in danger, but you are NOT gonna be telling us what to do to find our brothers and save Floyd"1
"Woah, woah, easy Bitty B, I'm just-," John Dory tried to defend himself.
However, Branch was not having it, as he sternly addressed John Dory, "And another thing, stop calling me Bitty B; my name is Branch, got it?! It's been that way since the day that you guys left, and that's how it's gonna stay, ok"?!
"I..I'm just...we have to-," John Dory tried to answer back, but seeing Branch stepping up to him, he was a little taken aback.
"If we are gonna be able to find the rest of our brothers, you have to stop trying to act like you know how to do everything and just listen," Branch stated bluntly.
While Branch was grilling it into John Dory, Poppy was looking over Branch's clue board, looking for any sign that could point towards where Clay could be. She examined each picture as closely as she could, looking over every fact about clay that was currently stated.
Just then, there was a picture that stood out to her: one that was of Clay, who was lying down, shirtless, modeling his Funderdrawers, while the other BroZone members were surrounding him, posing.
To Poppy, the weird pair of underwear stunned her; it looked oddly appealing but figuratively strange, as she didn't even know what their purpose was.
This led to Poppy asking out loud to Branch, "What is he wearing"?
Branch, who let go of John Dory, who quickly scrambled back, replied to Poppy, "Oh, those are just his…"
Just then, the picture of Clay in his Funderdrawers made Branch realize something. Near the entrance of the kitchen, there was a picture frame that modeled the legendary Funderdrawers present for everyone to see, if anyone other than John Dory could even see it. It looked like no one had worn them since the day that BroZone broke up and left, and if that was the case, then it could possibly still have Clay's scent, which could only mean...
The song "Perfect" rang in his head as Branch grinned, saying, "Funderdrawers."
He grabbed a hammer and immediately broke the glass of the picture frame, letting loose stinky ghost clouds that flew all around the interior of Rhonda, making Poppy gag and John Dory resist the urge to puke.
Branch held the pair of underwear up proudly, telling John Dory bluntly but with a determined smile, "John Dory, I have no idea why you saved these; it's incredibly disgusting, but I'm glad you did."
"What," John Dory rebutted, addressing, "They're memorabilia. But I will be good goshdarned if I know how they're gonna help us find Clay."
"Watch and learn from someone's who has developed excellent tracking skills from years of being a survivalist," Branch declared.
He took out a stick and placed the pair of underwear on it before he climbed out the window onto the top of Rhonda and crawled his way over to Rhonda's face.
He stuck the stick with the underwear out in front, lowering it slowly so Rhonda could see it and sniff it.
The armadillo vehicle saw the pair of underwear in front of her and sniffed it while Branch declared, "Help us, Rhonda; she's got the scent"!
Rhonda made sure that she got the scent firmly before growling in affirmation, ready to follow the scent to the ends of the Earth.
Back inside Rhonda, John Dory saw that there was a button that he felt Tiny would enjoy getting to press, luring him to look up by saying, "Hey, Tiny. You see that button"?
Tiny looked at the dashboard and saw a big, glowing, shiny orange button with a purple swirl on it, labeled "Hustle"; it looked so round, so glowy, so...enticing to press. The tiny glitter Troll smiled, responding as he saw the button, "Uh, yeah."
"That beautiful, shiny button," John Dory asked, making it sound very appealing.
"Oh, you mean the button that is taking every fiber of my being not to press? Yeah, I see it," Tiny replied while lying on the top of the dashboard, eyeing how beautiful the button looked.
Then, with eagerness, John Dory declared, "Press it."
That was more than enough encouragement for Tiny to get up, shout, "Oh, heck yeah," and leap forward, pressing the button with his feet.
The hustle button activated a special feature for Rhonda, whose eyes glowed bright while Tiny shouted, "Ooh! Let's hustle, daddy," as Rhonda took off, running at the speed of light.
Rhonda ran a good distance before the lights from her eyes formed a star-shaped wormhole into which the armadillo vehicle ran right, taking it to a dimension unlike anything anyone's ever seen!
Inside the Hustle Dimension, one could only describe it as feeling like the Trolls had entered a funky, energetic, colorful fever dream! Branch, Poppy, John Dory, and Bruce could feel themselves floating in but only an oasis of different animation styles and drawing patterns, moving like gloopy water from one scene to the other! One of which involved a very rough sketch-like environment of the interior of Rhonda; the other looked more like the patterns of Vibe City, and their bodies resembled the gloopy lights of lava lamps. The group was floating down a large black-and-white path that took them on bends and turns every second, with but only a light trail of the rainbow following them, before they entered another sky arena-like place, where they looked like hand-drawn baby characters, and together, they all combined to create the ultimate hustler: Hustle Man! Hustle Man saored up, up, up, into another star-shaped portal, which in real life, Rhonda came out the other side, and was in a brand new place.
Meanwhile, inside, the Trolls had returned back to reality, falling back onto the floor inside Rhonda.
"Ah, there goes my back," Bruce commented while getting up and stretching his back.
Poppy, meanwhile, was still mesmerized by what had just happened, commenting in awe, "Wow, too much hustle is a thing. i gotta tell R&B about this when we go back later; wonder if they know about the Hustle Dimension."
Branch, who had also recovered from being in the Hustle Dimension, saw that his hand still had a little bit of rainbow light left that glowed and moved when he moved his hand, making him smile in awe and comment, "Huh. Look at that."
Suddenly, everyone looked out the window and saw Rhonda, who appeared to be a bit frightened, enter a dark and spooky forest. With the path ahead still a little uncertain, the Trolls could only hope that this would help lead them to finding Clay, and bringing them one step closer to rescuing Floyd.